I had scheduled the Test HSI (High Score Index) article for this fortnight. However the response to the last article, on the "forgotten Test innings" was very good and the readers had come up with their suggestions, many of which were absolute gems and matched the evocative and wistful tone of my article. Consequently, I decided to do the follow-up article, based on reader responses now and publish the Test HSI article next week. So, to the delight of many readers, another anecdotal article gets the nod.

My sincere thanks to all the readers who came up with their suggestions, especially Kamran Wasti and Harsh, whose suggestions could have filled up an entire article, Arjun, Pawan, David, Gerry et al. When I say that I had a problem selecting 12 out of 32, had to increase this to 13, 14 and 15, readers will appreciate the quality of their contributions. I would venture to say that this is a more exciting set of innings than my selection.

In these matters I know that whatever I say is not followed. The theme of the article is to not to highlight great innings, match-winning innings, match-saving innings or high-HSI innings. What I have highlighted are the innings that are not talked about and have gone off cricket followers' radars.

I suggest that readers understand this important point before asking questions like, "Where is the 337?", "Why is the 221 not included?", "How can you miss the 213?" and even "You are biased because you have not considered the 136", and so on. The 337, 221, 213, 136, the double-50s of Rahul Dravid et al will not be discussed since every cricket follower knows about these. But I bet there will be quite a few comments on some of these numbers.

Let us now move on to the readers' selections: this time presented in chronological order.

Played on 7,8,10,11 January 1966
at Sydney Cricket Ground.
England won by an innings and 93 runs
England : 488 all out
RW Barber 185 (0.70)
Australia : 221 all out
Australia : 174 all out

These were the John Arlott-TMS and Alan McGilvray-ABC days. Wonderful to hear the commentary in those mellifluous tones! The short-wave radio was a permanent companion, even in classrooms. Bob Barber was an oddity in those Boycott-Lawry days. A score of 185 in 255 balls was Sehwagesque. A strong middle order contributed a sum total of 8 runs. But this stupendous innings, supported by John Edrich's sedate hundred, and late-order support, paved the way for a big innings win for England. It is poignant that towards the end of a very ordinary career, Barber essayed one of the finest away Ashes innings ever, the only time he crossed 100 in Tests.

Played on 31 December 1966, 2,3,4,5 January 1967
at Newlands, Cape Town.
Australia won by 6 wickets
Australia : 542 all out
South Africa: 353 all out
RG Pollock 209 (2.50)
South Africa: 367 all out
Australia : 180 for 4 wkt(s)

Graeme Pollock's 274 is remembered far more than his more valuable innings of 209. Although this was the only Test lost by South Africa in an otherwise dominant series, Pollock was magnificent. Facing a huge total of 542, South Africa slumped to 12 for 2, when Pollock walked in, and then to 85 for 5. He scored 209 wonderful runs out of fewer than 350 runs added while at crease. Pollock got good support from Peter van der Merwe and Peter Pollock. His 209 was not enough to avert the follow-on and a loss. Graeme's HSI was a phenomenal 2.50.

Played on 8,9,10,11 November 1969
at Dacca Stadium.
Match drawn
New Zealand : 273 all out
Pakistan : 290 for 7 wkt(s)
New Zealand : 200 all out
MG Burgess 119* (2.90)
Pakistan : 51 for 4 wkt(s)

This was an evergreen classic, unearthed by Kamran. After two middling innings, Pakistan secured a lead of 17 runs. New Zealand slumped to 25 for 4 and faced certain defeat when Mark Burgess walked in. On the fourth (and last?) day, Glenn Turner departed early and New Zealand faced disaster at 101 for 8. Burgess rescued them, in company of Bob Cunis, with a stand of 96 for the ninth wicket. Pakistan did not have enough time to secure a win. A match-saving innings nonpareil. Look at the very high HSI of 2.90.

Played on 8,9,10,12,13 July 1976
at Old Trafford, Manchester.
West Indies won by 425 runs
West Indies : 211 all out
CG Greenidge 134 (2.81)
England : 71 all out
West Indies : 411 for 5 wkt(s)
England : 126 all out

This is a peculiar selection in that West Indies finally won the Test by a massive 425 runs. But their first innings was a one-man effort and but for that we would not know how the match would have gone. Gordon Greenidge opened and saw four wickets fall for 26. He controlled the innings beautifully and scored 134 runs out of a score of 193 for 8. The first-innings score of 211 proved a huge mountain to climb and England folded for 71 and 126. Greenidge helped himself to a second-innings hundred, but nowhere near the first-innings gem. Look at the very high HSI. 63.5% of the completed innings, to boot.

Played on 18,19,20,22,23 February 1977
at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados.
Match drawn
Pakistan : 435 all out
Wasim Raja 117* (0.39)
West Indies : 421 all out
Pakistan : 291 all out
West Indies : 251 for 9 wkt(s)

This innings assumes importance because of what happened at the end of this exciting Test. Wasim Raja came in at 207 for 5 and against this hostile pace attack, Pakistan could easily have folded for 250. Wasim Raja controlled the second half of the Pakistani innings beautifully, adding valuable runs for each of the later partnerships. He remained not out on 117 and carried Pakistan to a potentially match-winning score of 435. Note the low HSI of this innings, which belies the value of this wonderful effort. Incidentally in the second innings, Wasim Raja and Wasim Bari added 133 for the last wicket to prevent a certain West Indian win.

Played on 12,13,14,16 January 1979
at M.A.Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai.
India won by 3 wickets
West Indies : 228 all out
India : 255 all out
GR Viswanath 124 (2.20)
West Indies : 151 all out
India : 125 for 7 wkt(s)

The two all-time classic 90s by the two stalwarts of Indian batting, Sunil Gavaskar's 96 and Gundappa Viswanath's 97*, tend to get talked about a lot more than many other top innings essayed by these two "giants". As such the top-class match-winning century of Viswanath in Chennai deserves a special look. West Indies finished with an average first-innings score of 228, thanks to a memorable 98 by Alvin Kallicharran, an innings worthy of being included in this list. Even though they had lost the big names to the Packer series, the trio of Sylvester Clarke, Norbert Philip and Vanburn Holder were not easy to face.

Viswanath, coming in at 11 for 2, anchored the Indian innings with a classical innings of 124, including an invaluable 70-run partnership with Syed Kirmani for the eighth wicket. The lead of 27 proved invaluable in the last innings, in which India chased a low target with difficulty. Viswanath's 124, with very little support, was the driving force behind the tough win.

Played on 8,9,10,12,13 February 1980
at Carisbrook, Dunedin.
New Zealand won by 1 wicket
West Indies : 140 all out
New Zealand : 249 all out
West Indies : 212 all out
DL Haynes 105 (1.32)
New Zealand : 104 for 9 wkt(s)

If ever a batsman nearly won a Test single-handedly, this was the one. In a match of low scores, Desmond Haynes was last out in both innings, participating in 20 partnerships for the match, as Arjun has pointed out. He scored 160 out of the team total of 352. In the second innings, he saw the score at a disastrous 29 for 4 and helped by two late-order partnerships, steered West Indies to 212 and a low target of 104. New Zealand almost did not make the target, thanks to excellent spells by Michael Holding, Joel Garner and Colin Croft. Haynes faced over 530 balls in the two innings, over 50% of the team balls.

This is a really forgotten innings by a journeyman cricketer. This might have been Antigua, but the bowlers were Andy Roberts, Holding, Garner and Croft, who could get the ball to talk on a concrete pitch. Peter Willey walked in at 138 for 5 and added 102 out of the 133 while at crease: one of the highest percentage of run contributions at 76.7%. This brave effort helped England reach a respectable total of 271 and safety in the match. Because he came in at 138 for 5, the HSI is relatively lower.

The 154* at Headingley is one of the most talked about innings. Graham Gooch achieved immortality with that effort, against the might of the West Indies attack, to craft an unlikely win in a low-scoring match. A few years back, Gooch played an equally important innings, a run less. The bowling quartet of Holding, Malcolm Marshall, Croft and Garner were waiting for him at Sabina Park.

This innings of 153 suffers only in comparison to the Headingly innings. It was an equally great innings. Surprisingly Gooch was fifth out, having made his runs out of 249. Ninety-six of the runs were in boundaries. Geoff Boycott was the next highest scorer, at 40, giving Gooch's innings a very good HSI of 2.18. West Indies took a lead of 157 and then...

As I was writing up this effort of Gooch, I saw that an equally wonderful innings, matching Gooch's own 154, was played by David Gower. He essayed a 403-ball marathon effort that saved England. Two wonderful 150-plus scores in the same Test. No hundred from West Indies' batsmen to boot.

Played on 14,15,16,17,19 April 1988
at Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad.
Match drawn
West Indies : 174 all out
Pakistan : 194 all out
West Indies : 391 all out
Pakistan : 341 for 9 wkt(s)
Javed Miandad 102 (0.84)

Javed Miandad, purveyor of that most famous six of all time, in Sharjah, and the scorer of unbeaten 280. But I agree with Kamran that his most famous innings is his Port-of-Spain effort in 1988. Two average first innings were followed by an excellent West Indies score of 391, setting a daunting target of 372 for Pakistan with well over four sessions of play left.

The bowlers, a different foursome, no less fearsome: Marshall, Curtly Ambrose, Courtney Walsh and Winston Benjamin. Miandad came in at 62 for 2 and played a patient innings of 102, departing at 288 for 7.

Played on 14,15,16,17 March 1997
at Crusaders Ground, Port Elizabeth.
Australia won by 2 wickets
South Africa: 209 all out
Australia : 108 all out
South Africa: 168 all out
Australia : 271 for 8 wkt(s)
ME Waugh 116 (1.23)

While I agree that this match-winning effort of Mark Waugh is not entirely forgotten, there is no doubt that it does not strike the same chords as the 153* in Bangalore or the 138 on debut do. So I have taken the liberty of including a tough-as-nails classic from the seemingly softer brother.

After three rather listless innings, Australia was set a very difficult winning target of 270 on a pitch in which the average RpW (Runs per Wicket) for the first three innings was 16.

Mark Waugh entered at a difficult score of 30 for 2. Each of the next three batsmen participated in useful partnerships. However Australia were never sure of a win, even at 145 for 3 at close of fourth day's play. Allan Donald, Shaun Pollock, Jacques Kallis, Brian McMillan and Paul Adams formed a really difficult attack. Mark Waugh was out sixth at 258 when 12 runs were needed. Luckily for him, and Australia, Ian Healy took them to an improbable win.

Comparisons cannot be avoided. In many ways this innings was similar to Sachin Tendulkar's 136 in Chennai, where he was dismissed leaving India 17 runs to win. While the Australian late order obliged, the Indian late order did not. One can conclude that both batsmen did not complete the task.

Played on 27,29,30,31 March 1997
at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados.
West Indies won by 38 runs
West Indies : 298 all out
S Chanderpaul 137* (1.77)
India : 319 all out
West Indies : 140 all out
India : 81 all out

This was a pulsating Test match won by West Indies by 38 runs when India were set the low target of 120 to win. Ian Bishop, Ambrose and Franklyn Rose were unplayable. They did not even need Mervyn Dillon to bowl.

But the real outstanding innings of the match was played a few days earlier. West Indies scored 298 in the first innings and any lower score would have meant India would have won. The West Indian innings was anchored by Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who scored 137 runs, worth more than many a double-hundred. He received only sporadic support from the top order.

Chanderpaul entered at 10 for 1 and steadied the innings, which, at 193 for 7, looked doomed. In partnership with Ambrose, Chanderpaul added 65 for the eighth wicket. The value of the 298 was felt three days later.

Played on 2,3,4,5 January 1999
at Sydney Cricket Ground.
Australia won by 98 runs
Australia : 322 all out
England : 220 all out
Australia : 184 all out
MJ Slater 123 (3.50)
England : 188 all out

Michael Slater's career-best innings was essayed during the 1998-99 Ashes series. It is one of the best Ashes hundreds ever. Australia had a first-innings lead of around 100.

But this lead would have been worthless if Australia did not have Slater. Opening the innings, he scored 123 out of the team total of 184. The innings percentage of 66.8 has only been bettered by Charles Bannerman's 165. One other batsman reached double figures: Mark Waugh, with 24. It was not a slap-dash innings. Slater faced 189 balls in a dominating display of four and a half hours.

The HSI was a stupendous 3.50: one of the highest in Test history. More on that in the next article.

If anyone is asked to talk of Ricky Ponting's career, he would mention the 140, 257, 156, 120 and 143* et al. No one would remember the 118 against Bangladesh. But that, in my opinion, is one of the most important innings Ponting played in his career.

Bangladesh took a first-innings lead of 158 runs and set Australia an imposing 307 to win. After a good start Australia were wobbling at 231 for 6. Ponting steered them home with a top-quality, unbeaten innings of 118. This innings is important because it saved Australia from the greatest of upsets.

Tendulkar played a similar match-winning innings of 105 against Bangladesh. But I did not include it here since who has ever "forgotten" any innings Tendulkar played.

As I was going through this scorecard I realised that Adam Gilchrist, in the first innings, played an equally important innings. In response to 423, Australia were on the edge of the abyss at 61 for 4 when Gilchrist walked in. Soon they slumped to 93 for 6 and follow-on (?) looked imminent. Gilchrist scored 144, his innings studded with six sixes and reduced the lead to a manageable 158. And manage, they did.

Played on 4,5,6,7,8 August 2006
at P.Saravanamuttu Stadium, Colombo.
Sri Lanka won by 1 wicket
South Africa: 361 all out
Sri Lanka : 321 all out
South Africa: 311 all out
Sri Lanka : 352 for 9 wkt(s)
DPMD Jayawardene 123 (0.62)

This time I have included a single innings from the modern era. Mahela Jayawardene's 374 is a much-remembered innings. The world record created, the world record missed, the two days spent by the vaunted South Africa attack on the field and so on. Very few people remember what happened a week later.

Seven days and probably 7km (Sri Lankans could correct me) separated the Tests. What a pair of Tests these turned to be. One a batting marathon and a win by an innings and over 150 runs and another which had four scores either side of 350.

South Africa, after taking a lead of 40, set Sri Lanka, an imposing 352 to win. Although Sri Lanka were sitting pretty at 120 for 2, soon wickets fell at regular intervals and they were never in complete control of the chase. Jayawardene held the innings together with an excellent innings of 123. Like Waugh did, Tendulkar did and Brian Lara did not, Jayawardene fell ten runs off the target and a few anxious moments later, Sri Lanka won by one wicket. An excellent innings under pressure, throughout.

This has been a whimsical and nostalgic journey through 13 decades of Test cricket. It is like a whiff of fresh air for me and, I hope, for many readers. It really does not matter which innings has been included or excluded. I could easily have substituted five of these innings with others and not lost the impact of the article. My sincere thanks to all the readers for their enthusiastic participation. It is a reminder to me that I should go anecdotal more often.

A brief note on the Newlands tour de force. Sriram, our son, who was in India recently made a fairly serious statement that Test cricket, due to changing times and the enormous revenue-generation of initiatives like the IPL (and, sadly, minus sentiment/history), was in danger of dying out in ten to 15 years time. My heart protested at this but my mind was endorsing the tough statement, especially since he is a serious student of the game and the people who run the game. It is my considered belief that the BCCI wants Test cricket to take a distant third place, to be tolerated and humoured rather than encouraged. So Sriram is probably close to the mark.

But let me say this. As of today (March 5, 2014) Test cricket is alive and kicking, and how. The last three hours at Newlands produced more genuine cricketing excitement than the entire IPL can produce. An average bowler who can bowl four overs of innocuous left-arm spin and keeps the runs conceded to 30, or one who can hit across the midwicket fence a few times will pocket a million dollars.

At Newlands, it was guts all the way. The whole match was symbolised by the limping Ryan Harris, who is going under the surgeon's scalpel next week, producing two magical deliveries to snatch a win from an equally exciting draw. Harris wouldn't get an IPL contract: he would go "unsold" at a minimum price of 100,000 dollars. He would not get a million dollars for selling male fairness creams. His four overs would go for 40 runs and he would warm the benches if at all he was picked. In all probability he may never play in a Test match again. But his name will be there, talked about when people talk of courage and guts. The knowledgeable cricket followers salute you, Ryan, the other ten Australians and the 11 South Africans. You guys have shown the courage and fortitude on the field that your administrators have not shown off the field. Michael Clarke, Ryan Harris, Vernon Philander, AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis, Dale Steyn, Kyle Abbott et al shine in this regard.

South Africa deserved to come out with a draw. Australia deserved to secure a win. Both teams fought like tigers. It is possible that the way Australia bowled on a perfect batting strip on the last day and never gave up trying gave them the edge. Nothing was easy, not even the ninth wicket. If Test cricket could produce five classics in the past 80 days in Wellington, Auckland, Johannesburg, Newlands and Sharjah, maybe Sriram is wrong. Test cricket might very live well beyond me.

Anantha Narayanan has written for ESPNcricinfo and CastrolCricket and worked with a number of companies on their cricket performance ratings-related systems

Hi Ananth,
Excellent twin articles, was as much fun reading the articles and the comments as it used to be back in the earlier avatar of It Figures. How does Harbajhan Singh's rather modern effort in Match no. 1974 against New Zealand stand up? without which India would have lost the match and probably the series.
Regards
Santosh
[[
Welcome back, Santosh. The 115 is an outstanding innings and would be one of the best late-order innings ever. But Martin's devastating spell, sending to 15 for 5 made this innings quite well-known. But Laxman's 91 should not be forgotten. How many such innings has that gentleman played for India: 281/167/91/96/73 et al.
Ananth
]]

sourabhsharda
on March 12, 2014, 7:32 GMT

Dear Ananthji,
This is just a request to you for a kind indepth analysis of a particular pattern of the game which has me intrigued for sometime. I think it shall be a worthwhile analysis of yet another facet of the beautiful game.
What I seek to know is the top 3/5 batsmen versus each test playing nation in both the test & the one day intl. formats of the game with the regular limit setting of atleast 10 matches or 500 runs scored with the most runs and highest average as the search criteria and also the bowler quotient against those played as per the quality standard that you have devised in all your earlier researches.
Also the same could be done for the bowlers vis-a-vis most wickets taken & the lowest average criteria with regards to the quality of batsmen they have played against.
Hope this different take will help in highlighting batsmen with a specific affinity to a particular country-style or method of bowling and bowlers who thrived more against particular type of batsmen
[[
Will look into it. It is fairly complicated for possibly minimal insights. ANyhow will see what can be done.
Ananth
]]

harshthakor
on March 12, 2014, 5:20 GMT

Maybe also 1an Botham's 118 at Old Trafford in the 1981 Ashes and ven 149 n.o at Leeds ,Sandeep Patil's 129 at Old Trafford in 1982 and Salim Malik's match-saving 277 at Lahorev Australia in 1986.
[[
Yes, I agree these are not so well-known and deserve serioud consideration. You are probably referring to Salim Malik's match-saving innings of 237 at Rawalpindi during 1994.
Ananth
]]

harshthakor
on March 12, 2014, 5:17 GMT

Never forget Kim Hughes's 100 not out out of 198 at Melbourne against West Indies that won the test for Australia in December 1981 against a great attack and after his team was precariously placed.Sunil Gavaskar's 96 against Pakistan at Bangalore in 1986-87 is arguably the best ever innings on bad wicket.Also Colin Cowdrey's 102 out of 191 against Australia which was a classic or even Dilip Vengsarkar's 102 at Leeds in 1986 on a wet wicket with the ball moving around.
anyway great work Ananth.
[[
Almost all these are very well known, Harsh.
Ananth
]]

Vijay_P_S
on March 11, 2014, 19:12 GMT

@Ukraine, I don't think current players would want to speak out against their boards lest they lose their favor. Retired players on the other hand have free license to do it.

Nampally
on March 11, 2014, 14:08 GMT

Mr. Narayanan, the greatest Test series ever was the 1959-60 WI vs. Australia which precedes your starting point of 1966. The first test @ Brisbane in that series ended in a Tie after the combined total of both the sides was nearly 1500 runs. The series included some excellent showmanship of Fast bowling, excellent batting & superb fielding. Only black mark was some really poor umpiring decisions by OZ Umpires. WI under the captaincy of Great Sir Frank Worrell showed remarkable sportsmanship despite crucial decisions going against WI. This was appreciated by nearly a million people turned up to bid farewell to the WI side travelling in open top Cars. Jack Fingleton described Sobers 168 in one of the tests as the greatest Test innings in the living memory- watched by Don Bradman. I was privileged to listen on Radio as a Kid in India. My contribution - "Lest we Forget" the greatest Test Series -which showed Cricket at its Best in all departments of the game + superb sportsmanship!
[[
You seem to have missed my first article. There is no starting point. In my first article there was a 1898 innings of 188 by Clem Hill. The point is that most followers know about Sobers' innings.
Ananth
]]

dummy4fb
on March 11, 2014, 0:32 GMT

Simply superb article Ananth. Loved reading it. The cricket fan in me was delighted in reading it. I so wish along with the scorecard Cricinfo could somehow include video highlights as well. That though is a fantasy. It the painstaking work of fans like you that keeps the love of the game alive.
[[
Many thanks.
Ananth
]]

David_1946
on March 10, 2014, 21:55 GMT

@ArjunHemnani: I watched much of that 1974 test; NZ had just beaten Australia for the first time in Christchurch. Walters' 104 was heroic, on a wet pitch, but he was helped by some dreadful NZ bowling, mainly from a young RJ Hadlee, who bowled a series of long hops that Walters and Marsh were easily able to cut and pull away to Eden Park's short side-boundaries. Hadlee's bowling was so bad that Congdon, who bowled very a gentle medium pace, was forced to bring himself on, and he had the ball rearing head high from a length, almost decapitating Marsh. Ian Chappell later said the pitch was the worst he'd ever batted on. The day's batting showcase was Turner's 34*, out of 85/8, where he handled Walker and Gilmour with relative ease, despite the treacherous conditions. On days 2 & 3, the pitch dried out, and Redpath's 159 was an exercise in watchful shot selection. After Turner had hit Mallett for 8 fours in 3 overs, NZ collapsed badly in its second innings to lose heavily.

Ukraine
on March 10, 2014, 17:38 GMT

Hi Ananth,

Once again, an excellent article and analysis on Test Match cricket. I, too, hope that your son is wrong in predicting the death of the best format of cricket. Sadly, the powers that be are too greedy and capitalistic in their views. I play cricket for a local club in the US. The highlight of our season is 2 and 3 day Test Match cricket. We are probably the only club in the US to include this format in our annual fixtures list. If one is lucky enough to play Test Match cricket, one will fully appreciate the rigors, strategy, discipline, concentration, patience, and endurance of this format. Hopefully one will never follow IPL again. I wish some international players have the skills and chutzpah to stand up to their respective boards and speak out against the blatant wrong doing being done to keep Test Cricket out from their schedules. The history of cricket will change for the worse without the '99%' occupying ICC (BCCI)!
[[
I do not dislike T20 cricket, per se. I have time for the true international T20 matches. It is the greed, inequity, deception, possible criminal links, non-recognition of talent, imbalance, nepotism et al of IPL which puts me off. I might have tolerated IPL if there had been a more balanced and honest style of running. Unfortunately that is a den of *****.
Ananth
]]

arajeshn
on March 10, 2014, 12:40 GMT

Ananth,
Great list of innings, both in your original article as well as the reader's contributions. Plus, the reader's comments seem to bring up more of these forgotten gems.

Is there scope for a similar list of unhyped (not forgotten, (c) Pawan Mathur above) bowling performances? I was wondering whether a performance like Ryan Harris's courageous display in the Newlands test would make it to this list. I guess it probably would have done if it had been 30 years ago. Nowadays, with uninterrupted online and TV coverage, it may not meet the 'forgotten' criteria!
[[
Yes, I want to do a bowler article also. Have to give a break and do that.
Ananth
]]

dummy4fb
on March 12, 2014, 13:44 GMT

Hi Ananth,
Excellent twin articles, was as much fun reading the articles and the comments as it used to be back in the earlier avatar of It Figures. How does Harbajhan Singh's rather modern effort in Match no. 1974 against New Zealand stand up? without which India would have lost the match and probably the series.
Regards
Santosh
[[
Welcome back, Santosh. The 115 is an outstanding innings and would be one of the best late-order innings ever. But Martin's devastating spell, sending to 15 for 5 made this innings quite well-known. But Laxman's 91 should not be forgotten. How many such innings has that gentleman played for India: 281/167/91/96/73 et al.
Ananth
]]

sourabhsharda
on March 12, 2014, 7:32 GMT

Dear Ananthji,
This is just a request to you for a kind indepth analysis of a particular pattern of the game which has me intrigued for sometime. I think it shall be a worthwhile analysis of yet another facet of the beautiful game.
What I seek to know is the top 3/5 batsmen versus each test playing nation in both the test & the one day intl. formats of the game with the regular limit setting of atleast 10 matches or 500 runs scored with the most runs and highest average as the search criteria and also the bowler quotient against those played as per the quality standard that you have devised in all your earlier researches.
Also the same could be done for the bowlers vis-a-vis most wickets taken & the lowest average criteria with regards to the quality of batsmen they have played against.
Hope this different take will help in highlighting batsmen with a specific affinity to a particular country-style or method of bowling and bowlers who thrived more against particular type of batsmen
[[
Will look into it. It is fairly complicated for possibly minimal insights. ANyhow will see what can be done.
Ananth
]]

harshthakor
on March 12, 2014, 5:20 GMT

Maybe also 1an Botham's 118 at Old Trafford in the 1981 Ashes and ven 149 n.o at Leeds ,Sandeep Patil's 129 at Old Trafford in 1982 and Salim Malik's match-saving 277 at Lahorev Australia in 1986.
[[
Yes, I agree these are not so well-known and deserve serioud consideration. You are probably referring to Salim Malik's match-saving innings of 237 at Rawalpindi during 1994.
Ananth
]]

harshthakor
on March 12, 2014, 5:17 GMT

Never forget Kim Hughes's 100 not out out of 198 at Melbourne against West Indies that won the test for Australia in December 1981 against a great attack and after his team was precariously placed.Sunil Gavaskar's 96 against Pakistan at Bangalore in 1986-87 is arguably the best ever innings on bad wicket.Also Colin Cowdrey's 102 out of 191 against Australia which was a classic or even Dilip Vengsarkar's 102 at Leeds in 1986 on a wet wicket with the ball moving around.
anyway great work Ananth.
[[
Almost all these are very well known, Harsh.
Ananth
]]

Vijay_P_S
on March 11, 2014, 19:12 GMT

@Ukraine, I don't think current players would want to speak out against their boards lest they lose their favor. Retired players on the other hand have free license to do it.

Nampally
on March 11, 2014, 14:08 GMT

Mr. Narayanan, the greatest Test series ever was the 1959-60 WI vs. Australia which precedes your starting point of 1966. The first test @ Brisbane in that series ended in a Tie after the combined total of both the sides was nearly 1500 runs. The series included some excellent showmanship of Fast bowling, excellent batting & superb fielding. Only black mark was some really poor umpiring decisions by OZ Umpires. WI under the captaincy of Great Sir Frank Worrell showed remarkable sportsmanship despite crucial decisions going against WI. This was appreciated by nearly a million people turned up to bid farewell to the WI side travelling in open top Cars. Jack Fingleton described Sobers 168 in one of the tests as the greatest Test innings in the living memory- watched by Don Bradman. I was privileged to listen on Radio as a Kid in India. My contribution - "Lest we Forget" the greatest Test Series -which showed Cricket at its Best in all departments of the game + superb sportsmanship!
[[
You seem to have missed my first article. There is no starting point. In my first article there was a 1898 innings of 188 by Clem Hill. The point is that most followers know about Sobers' innings.
Ananth
]]

dummy4fb
on March 11, 2014, 0:32 GMT

Simply superb article Ananth. Loved reading it. The cricket fan in me was delighted in reading it. I so wish along with the scorecard Cricinfo could somehow include video highlights as well. That though is a fantasy. It the painstaking work of fans like you that keeps the love of the game alive.
[[
Many thanks.
Ananth
]]

David_1946
on March 10, 2014, 21:55 GMT

@ArjunHemnani: I watched much of that 1974 test; NZ had just beaten Australia for the first time in Christchurch. Walters' 104 was heroic, on a wet pitch, but he was helped by some dreadful NZ bowling, mainly from a young RJ Hadlee, who bowled a series of long hops that Walters and Marsh were easily able to cut and pull away to Eden Park's short side-boundaries. Hadlee's bowling was so bad that Congdon, who bowled very a gentle medium pace, was forced to bring himself on, and he had the ball rearing head high from a length, almost decapitating Marsh. Ian Chappell later said the pitch was the worst he'd ever batted on. The day's batting showcase was Turner's 34*, out of 85/8, where he handled Walker and Gilmour with relative ease, despite the treacherous conditions. On days 2 & 3, the pitch dried out, and Redpath's 159 was an exercise in watchful shot selection. After Turner had hit Mallett for 8 fours in 3 overs, NZ collapsed badly in its second innings to lose heavily.

Ukraine
on March 10, 2014, 17:38 GMT

Hi Ananth,

Once again, an excellent article and analysis on Test Match cricket. I, too, hope that your son is wrong in predicting the death of the best format of cricket. Sadly, the powers that be are too greedy and capitalistic in their views. I play cricket for a local club in the US. The highlight of our season is 2 and 3 day Test Match cricket. We are probably the only club in the US to include this format in our annual fixtures list. If one is lucky enough to play Test Match cricket, one will fully appreciate the rigors, strategy, discipline, concentration, patience, and endurance of this format. Hopefully one will never follow IPL again. I wish some international players have the skills and chutzpah to stand up to their respective boards and speak out against the blatant wrong doing being done to keep Test Cricket out from their schedules. The history of cricket will change for the worse without the '99%' occupying ICC (BCCI)!
[[
I do not dislike T20 cricket, per se. I have time for the true international T20 matches. It is the greed, inequity, deception, possible criminal links, non-recognition of talent, imbalance, nepotism et al of IPL which puts me off. I might have tolerated IPL if there had been a more balanced and honest style of running. Unfortunately that is a den of *****.
Ananth
]]

arajeshn
on March 10, 2014, 12:40 GMT

Ananth,
Great list of innings, both in your original article as well as the reader's contributions. Plus, the reader's comments seem to bring up more of these forgotten gems.

Is there scope for a similar list of unhyped (not forgotten, (c) Pawan Mathur above) bowling performances? I was wondering whether a performance like Ryan Harris's courageous display in the Newlands test would make it to this list. I guess it probably would have done if it had been 30 years ago. Nowadays, with uninterrupted online and TV coverage, it may not meet the 'forgotten' criteria!
[[
Yes, I want to do a bowler article also. Have to give a break and do that.
Ananth
]]

dummy4fb
on March 10, 2014, 11:39 GMT

Hi Ananth,

I have always been a great fan of your articles, but this one was something else. Most of the innings I wasn't aware of, being a new generation cricket fan, and it has been amazing to read about them. Cricket is probably the only game that allows us fans to get into such deep analysis, and understand the importance of innings played even 50-100 years before.

I was just wondering, if it is a deliberate attempt to restrict to only centuries? I ask this because, as I was browsing through India's tour of West Indies, their last overseas win. The first test that India won, they were limbering at 85-6, when Bhajji knocked a quickfire 70, to help India to a total of 246 (In able company of Raina). I guess it was quite an important innings in the context of the match and the result (Accepted that the WI bowling wasn't the strongest enough).

My point is, won't there be quite a few such non-centuries, that would have had similar impact?
[[
Without being dogmatic about it, I seem to have limited myself to 100s. Even then there is still sufficient material for a third article. However your comment gives me an idea that there is a need to devote an article (and knowling my dear readers well, a follow-up article!!!) to sub-100 innings. Maybe I may not even bring in the "forgotten" tag for that. Many thanks.
Ananth
]]

Oxonion
on March 10, 2014, 7:28 GMT

Dear Ananth, yesterday I posted a comment on test # 890 (but it didnt get published?), which i was a witness to as a 12 year old and distinctly recall how the entire country had gone in to despair on facing the first ever defeat at Karachi. But for Raja's great epic, where bouncer after bouncer from Marshall, Croft, Garner and Clark, would just be played with the grace and class that only Raja could execute. He shielded the last 3 tailenders from the brute of the windies on a wet wicket for a good 2 hours, scoring an unbeaten 77 in four hours of exemplary doggedness, leaving no time for the windies to bat again and beat Pakistan. In the context of the game, it was one of the greatest match saving innings played by a Pakistani and as good as his display in the barbados tes. Hope this is appreciated.
[[
No, ZM, it was published with my response. Pl see just after the featured comments. I have given below the datestamp.
Posted by Oxonion on (March 9, 2014, 10:39 GMT)
Ananth
]]

Biggus
on March 10, 2014, 4:48 GMT

@Gerry_the_Merry:- Back in the old days (1970s) we kids could jump the fence and sit in that roped off corner of the WACA. Sweet, innocent times they were.

Cool_Jeeves
on March 10, 2014, 2:58 GMT

Biggus, thanks for this. Now I understand something which has long puzzled me. So effectively, around 20 yards was removed and it still was a mighty 90 yards.
[[
Unfortunately, at Mirpur or Fatullah (I don't know which), the distance to the stands was 75 yards and they had moved the ropes inward by more than 15 yards. The obsession with boundaries ???
Ananth
]]

lardster
on March 9, 2014, 21:15 GMT

Yes, well we got 'roasted' over a couple. Mainly not rating Laxman's masterpiece highly enough. I'd be interested to know what you make of the method we employed.
[[
Patrick, as and when I get hold of a copy, I will communicate with you. I will also send a mail from my mailid so that we do not have to meet using the blog comments route!!!
Ananth
]]

dummy4fb
on March 9, 2014, 16:47 GMT

Another very, very good article. A real pleasure to read.
Much appreciated

dummy4fb
on March 9, 2014, 13:49 GMT

It is a good follow up article to the previous one. Reading the number of innings mentioned by the readers, I can gladly say that forgotten is a wrong terminology and I iwould substitute it for unhyped inniings.
I also had one observation from both the articles, Apart from Azhar Mahmood's innings tyouer selection plus comments, all mentionthe innings came from top and middle order. How about an article in the future focusing on the best innings played by a genuine tailende (8,9,10,11)r. Here, there could be two situations - Either the tail ender saves his team from a tough situation ( like say Brett lee almost did it in Edgbaston 2005), or the tailender plays a perfecting supporting role (GIllespie in Chennai, Ambrose in Barbados 1997 vs India). If possible , please do an article on it. as the readers could find some real gems
[[
Pawan, as I was writing up the Kapil innings against SA for the Test HSI article, I got a similar idea that 7-11 could form the basis of an article. Will do after a month or two.
Ananth
]]

lardster
on March 9, 2014, 12:37 GMT

These are great innings and you are doing a great service reminding people of what has been done over 150 years. So much room for discussion of course as we found out when we wrote our book Masterly Batting about great Test centuries. Plenty of the innings notes above feature in our book - I particularly enjoyed writing about Bob Barber - but one we excluded was Peter Willey on the basis that the game was safe once he'd reached 60-odd and part-time bowlers were then employed which rather tainted it.
But a fascinating and informative list.
[[
Patrick, many thanks for your kind words. I have yet to read your book and will do so soon. Let me also say that the Wisden 100 done during 2001 was my first attempt at such an analysis. I have since acquired a lot of insights on Bowling/Pitch conditions as well as on the innings/match status and player contributions and am currently working on the revision. Our top-10 or top-100 will never agree. But I must say that any list which puts the 154, 153*, 188 and the Bradman double-hundred (okay I got the first one and you got the second one!!!) in the top-10 deserves serious consideration. I got roasted over the coals for non-inclusion of Tendulkar. On paper the 155 was off a very weak bowling attack: Kaspro/Reiffel/Robertson/Warne. In my press conference I explained this. But non-scorecard considerations will always push up this innings.
Ananth
]]

Biggus
on March 9, 2014, 12:13 GMT

@Gerry_the_Merry:- If you look at the you tube clip of Walters' hundred in a session in Perth in 1974 you'll see ropes about 20 meters in from the boundary on the eastern side of the ground. That's just the WACA, I know it well, and the distance to that boundary sans ropes must be something close to 110-120 meters. In my experience that side has always been roped off.

Cool_Jeeves
on March 9, 2014, 11:22 GMT

@Inspector_Clouseau (March 9, 2014, 3:20 GMT)

If you look at footage of Pakistan's innings in 1992 World Cup Final, you would see some very huge sixes hit by Imran Khan, because there were no ropes at the MCG.

In a book on 100 greatest cricketers, Steve Waugh seems to bemoan the shrinking of grounds, by referring to Greenidge's innings of 95 in the Adelaide test of 1984-85. Greenidge was caught hooking on the boundary line by Rodney Hogg of Geoff Lawson. It was a flat shot, headed for six, until intercepted by Hogg. Waugh writes that today, that would have been a sure six. As it was, Greenidge went without a century in Australia.

But there were ropes in the Perth test of that series, when Dujon and Gomes made centuries. you can see that in youtube. But the ropes today are well inside, plus a couple of rows of seats have been added.

In the 80s, apart from Imran, Kapil, Botham, Richards and Greenidge, no one hit sixes.

Now even Rohit Sharma hits 17 in an innings.

dummy4fb
on March 9, 2014, 10:57 GMT

You have overlooked the Graham Yallop innings during the sixth Ashes test of February 1979 in test 846
He scored 121 in a total of 198, with Kim Hughes score of 16 being next highest score. He scored 121 out of the 179 scored whilst at the crease with him being the 9th man out. The English bowling attack of Willis, Botham, Hendrick, Embury and Miller is pretty good statistically
[[
The Yallop innings was a magnificent one and is being referred to in the next article since the HSI is a huge 4.74.
Ananth
]]

Oxonion
on March 9, 2014, 10:39 GMT

The classy Wasim Raja was Pakistan's savior against the mighty west indies of the 80s, more than once. The innings he played against Clark, Croft, Garner and Marshall on a wet wicket at Karachi in 1981 was equally heroic, if not more, than the one at Barbados. Pakistan in its entire history had not lost a test at Karachi at the time and against the full blast of the fearsome four, they were 85 for 5 in their 2nd innings (they had been blasted out for 128 in their first outing!) when Raja walked in. The entire nation saw the writing on the wall and it was excruciating! Despite being a fearless stroke player by nature, Raja spent 4 hours at the crease on the last day defying their brute, scoring 77 not out with only 3 fours! However what made it great was the fact that the last three tailenders spent 2 hours at the crease, scoring only 7 runs in between them! That is how well Raja shielded them from the bowlers. Pakistan scored 204-9 and saved the game and their record at Karachi.
[[
If this innings had come up earlier this would have been given serious consideration. The irony was that Pakistan was almost never safe barring the last two hours or so. And that at the end of the match they could very well have been the favourites. 170 on that pitch against Imran and company could have been tight. Mohammad Nazir, batting at no.11, faced 40 balls.
Ananth
]]

07sanjeewakaru
on March 9, 2014, 7:14 GMT

Anath,Salute you for reviving these gems otherwise must've been forgotten.I'm a Sri Lankan..PSara and SSC are about 2 km apart..But if some one want he can have a path of 7 km long..Ha ha..So no matter..!

Anath, In first ever Test between SA and SL at Moratuwa in 1993..Jonty Rhodes played a wonderful,Gutsy innings to save the match..I don't think It'll make this list.But It was an awesome Innings.His career defining innings..http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/63618.html
[[
I can see why you are referring to Jonty's innings. Set 364 to win, SA were never safe, at 15 for 2, 47 for 3, 92 for 4, 126 for 5 and 138 for 6. Rhodes and Smcox added 61 valuable runs for the seventh wicket. Even at 199 for 7, they were not safe. Then Eksteen carved out a defensive classic of 4 in 89 and Rhodes was there at the end. If this had come to my notice before the current article, this would have been a serious contender.
Ananth
]]
And Kumar Sangakkara's 230 at Lahore in Asian Test Championship final..Against Wakar and Shohib..http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/63948.html
[[
I agree with the quality of innings. But this is a well-known classic from the elegant master especially as Sri Lanka's win was wholly unexpected.
Ananth
]]
Test cricket is the Ultimate form of cricket as it tests the patience through out five days..Patience of batsman,fielders,captains and Bowlers..No sport like that..To me,Patience is the hardest human aspect to gain and control..
Yes with bats ,shorter boundaries and field restrictions ODIs and T20s have become BATTING not Cricket..Its boring..!
Thanks million.!

muzika_tchaikovskogo
on March 9, 2014, 6:45 GMT

Dear Mr. Ananth, its always a pleasure reading your article (although the statistical details are usually beyond my mathematically challenged brain). Thanks to you, I'm getting to know of several great innings I was totally unaware of.

siddhartha87
on March 9, 2014, 5:09 GMT

what about Damien Martyn's 101 against South Africa at Johannesburg in April 2006.
[[
Reminiscent of Mark Waugh's innings. Damien was out a serious 36 runs away from the target. Australia could very well have lost the match but for Lee.
Ananth
]]

dummy4fb
on March 9, 2014, 4:05 GMT

Thanks for the appreciation from 'Insightful' as well as Ananth !
I actually wanted to post about more matches but cricinfo din't allowed me to.. :P
Even though I have not watched many of those innings mentioned in the article but I can feel their greatness just through this article.
Actually you don't get to see the tests of the 80's and 90's on the TV probably because the broadcasters think that they won't attract that amount of people that a big scoring T20 might,no matter how inconsequential it might be.
But I want to convey one thing..It was IPL which created interest towards cricket in me at first..Yes "the IPL"..Some friends told me about it!
And one day I heard Ravi shastri saying "congratulations to Australia on their win over NZ and congratulations to ponting as well" in maybe 2009 or 2010 IPL..And me and my friends watched the match and followed the whole series.
Since then I have watched some good,if not great matches!
[[
Thanks, Shreyan. More than watching, you would also get excellent insight by reading about matches which were played over the years. Some of the best sporting prose exists relating to the game of cricket. Slowly develop a liking towards the writings of John Arlott, Nevile Cardus, Ray Robinson, CLR James, Jack Fingleton, KN Prabhu and the like. Now Nirmal Shekhar writes beautifully.
I am not a fan of IP because of many negative things. But I like the international version of T20. Again it is a matter of personal preference. I do not like the 150-minute action formula Indian film at all. There are many who swear by the relaxation it gives them.
Take care. All the best. May there be more youngsters like you. The game would survive because of guys like you.
Ananth
]]

Vijay_P_S
on March 9, 2014, 3:20 GMT

Hi ananth, I always wondered about the size of cricket grounds in the past. I have a feeling that the ground sizes are becoming smaller by the day. Is this true? I am sure it is happening in ODIs but I don't know about tests.
[[
In general, they move the boundary ropes inward in ODIs. Test matches probably remain the same. But the heavier bats make a mockery of most of these grounds.
Ananth
]]

Biggus
on March 9, 2014, 3:16 GMT

Anantha, I remember Iqbal's innings very well, and a magnificent knock it was indeed, however Thomson didn't bowl in that innings, the second, since he was injured just after lunch on the first day colliding with Alan Turner trying to catch a miscued hook from Zaheer Abbas.
[[
I agree. Still Lillee, Gilmour, O'Keefe and Chappell is a tough combination.
Ananth
]]

dummy4fb
on March 9, 2014, 3:12 GMT

Test no. 1098: England v/s West Indies :
Played at Played at Trent Bridge, Nottingham
2,3,4,6,7 June 1988

England: 245 all out
WI: 448
England: 301 for 3
Graham Gooch: 146
[[
Yes, a potent bowling attack. But the final score of 301 for 3 indicated a reasonably good position. All batsmen contributed.
Ananth
]]

SDCLFC
on March 9, 2014, 1:44 GMT

...And Mark Waugh (again - he really is the forgotten war) on the first day of a 3 match tour of New Zealand which was actually quite evenly matched despite Steve Waugh's side winning 3 zip. From this tour everyone hails Steve's 150 from the second test in Wellington, ignoring that Slater's ton at the other end had held the top order together.
However in the first test on a fresh surface we got right into the Australia line-up and would've rolled them completely if it weren't for a Mark Waugh "I-don't-see-what-the-problem-is", easy-breezy, 70-odd.
Without it we may well have won the first test.
[[
Thanks, Scott, for a wonderful slice of the trans-Tasman contests. 78 for 3 and Mark Waugh shepherds the innings to a potentially match winning 200+ score. Neither team crossed 230.
Ananth
]]

SDCLFC
on March 9, 2014, 1:37 GMT

What good fun. Definately a challenge trying to select from innings that are not universally heralded. I'm sure there are many out there that cuold be included but here's a couplfe I want to put forward.
Astel's 4h innings 222 against Englad at Lancaster Park, Christchurch, will be never forgotten but in the first innings Hussain scored a very important hundred. on one of the first ever drop in-pitches the first two innings were played on a real livewire before it flattened out for the mammoth runscoring of the 3rd and 4th innings. Hussain was dropped early (by Astle) as the England top order was blown away. England's final winning margain was just under 100 so the most definning runs of the game were played on the first day.
TBC...
[[
The 222, so incandescent an innings it was, completely overwhelmed many top class innings. The first innings of Nasser (106 out of 228 and a high HSI of 1.743) and Thorpe's 231-ball 200 in the second. Also Flintoff's blistering 100. Since the first two inninbgs produced 375 runs for 20 wickets, Nasser's innings assumes more significance. Afterwards over 900 runs were scored for 16 wickets.
Ananth
]]

Jonathan_E
on March 8, 2014, 21:10 GMT

Another innings I really admired, also from the 1991 Eng/WI series.

We all know about Gooch's 154* at Headingley: but in the next match, there was another innings which I think was nearly as good.

West Indies made just one change - uncapped Ian Allen for Patterson (injured). England were unchanged, with no specialist spinner: a decision they regretted on the first day as Windies smashed their way to 317/3, two of the wickets to Hick's part-time offspin.

Next day, conditions were better for bowling: Windies folded for 419. England lost 3 for 16, followed by Ramprakash and Gooch to make 84/5. They were facing the follow-on and a heavy defeat.

Enter Robin Smith, who clubbed his way to 148*, aided by solid efforts from Russell, Pringle and DeFreitas, and Watkin defended stoutly for an hour for his 6. England reached 354, behind by only 65. Six overs later, Windies were 12/2 (effectively 77/2) and the match was back in the balance.

Sadly the last two days were rained off...
[[
An excellent choice, Jonathan. If this had come in with the earlier article, it would have been a serious contender. 20 fours, probably quite a few of those rasping square cuts included, off a fearsome bowling attack made this top class innings. The HSI is a very respectable 1.439. One must give credit for Russell, Pringle and de Freitas for their support.
Ananth
]]

Insightful2013
on March 8, 2014, 19:48 GMT

Re reply to Biggus, Windies fast bowlers, Murali, Akram and Waquar won matches by themselves. Re myself, if I haven't actually seen something, it then becomes fiction or subjective. I watch sport for my feelings. I read Stephen king for his brilliant imagination. It's like T20, aficionados know it's silly cricket and attach little importance to any performances. That's borne out by the now" booming" mentality of some batsmen, who cannot adjust. Re: Steve 48 and Gerry, I hope this isn't too insensitive but it's my belief. I see absolutely no difference physiologically between a Pakistani, Indian, Sri Lankan and an East Indian West Indian, except politics and religion. Malinga and Acktar were certainly express. Leaving my conclusion, it must be a regional affectation. And as to Shreyan Joshi, please, we need more insightful 14 yr olds like him. His posts should always be given priority and his opinions ferociously sought after. Shreyan, watch the 80's, 90's achives and stay well.
[[
I respect your views on sports. For me partly Tennis is like your cricket view. Nice of you to mention about Shreyan. An oasis in desert. If, through my anecdotal articles, I can get youngsters like Shreyan take interest in what happened 50 years or 100 years back, I would have done something. For instance, Barber's tour-de-force was a whiff of fresh air for me in those difficult teenage days: a loving family but very little resources. If I can make one person, even you, look up that scorecard, it would be enough for me.
Ananth
]]

CricIndia208
on March 8, 2014, 19:26 GMT

Where is laxmans 103 vs SL in Colombo?
[[
Conceded, a match-winning innings but Laxman himself has played at least 5 better innings. Off an average bowling attack, to boot.
Ananth
]]

steve48
on March 8, 2014, 18:49 GMT

Must add, Anatha, it is a pleasure to have our comments personally answered! Batting has always been seen as more glamorous, I guess, perhaps apart from in Australia, where they seem to understand that one does not exist without the other! I agree with you that spin is India's biggest problem now, as Dhoni and the selectors seem to favour a batting, economical spinner. What exactly is going on with Ashwin? I really thought being outbowled at home by Swann and Monty would be the wake up call India needed. But it seems one day formats, individual stars such as Kholi and of course the IPL rule. Worrying when you consider the power India has over the game
[[
Indeed very worrying. The spectacle Ashwin made of himself in the first Asia Cup game, when he tried to bowl like Sunil Narine, was disgusting. I get the feeling that he does not want to do the basics correctly and keeps on experimenting. I still think Harbhajan is a far better Test match bowler. For that matter, Lyon is a safe bet in Tests. Imagine, this from a country, which gave to the world Prasanna, one of the truly great off-spinners of all time.
Ananth
]]

steve48
on March 8, 2014, 17:25 GMT

Thanks, Anatha for answering my comment. I was very disappointed reading Gerry the merry 's post, as Dravid has been a hero of mine. Thing is, India DOES find bowlers of pace, they just all get injured/ lose pace/ lose accuracy! It can't ALL be down to the individual! They aren't even producing quality spinners any more! On another article, I posted my belief that although England's series win in India was an excellent effort, the lack of quality bowling in India means even their batsmen became vulnerable to our spinners! You can't really bat unless you face testing bowling, no matter how talented you are, it is a reactive skill. I know the Indian public love their batsmen, but are Kapil Dev, Bedi, Kumble not idolised too? Really, I don't know! Just wandering if the product being sold to the public is what they actually want. Are they really not interested in an Indian Dale Steyn?
[[
Sadly, the reality is that Indians deify the batsmen a lot more than bowlers. Kumble never got anywhere the recognition that the contemporary batsmen received even though he was a true match winner for nearly 2 decades. At this stage I fear more for Indian spinners than the Indian pace bowlers. When I see Ashwin I wonder how someone has gone through about 10 bowling type changes instead of concentrating on the basics. Unfortunately the real spinner, Mishra, is being sidelined.
Ananth
]]

A_Sekar
on March 8, 2014, 17:11 GMT

Also can be included is Asif Iqbal's 152 Not out against Australia in 1977 in the first test at Adelaide (2nd innings). His memorable last wicket partnership of 87 with last man Iqbal Qasim, who was last out for 4. This knock meant that Australia were sent a decent target of 285 on the last day, and they made 261 for six and the match was drawn. But for Asif's knock, Pakistan would have lost this match. In fact Asif Iqbal is known for such stupendous innings, another 120 in the last test at sydney, which helped Pakistan to square the series.
[[
That was a magnificent innings, against Lillee, Thomson, Gilmour and O'Keefe. He came in at 236 for 4 and took Pakistan to relative safety at 466. It is certainly worthy of consideration. Forget about the specific XV. Discussion in the comments is as important.
Ananth
]]

MiddleStump
on March 8, 2014, 16:37 GMT

Often the reputation of the bowlers plays an unfairly larger role in rating the quality of an innings. For instance people still talk of the 97 not out by G.R.Viswanath in Madras against Roberts and company in 1975. However, the 124 you have mentioned was just as good a gem. I had the good fortune to watch both. Clarke was an outstanding bowler and Holder was wily. The most important difference between the two tests was the pitch. It had more pace and a lot more bounce in 1979 when compared to 1975. This made batting a lot more difficult and even dangerous. Yet this is not factored when rating a batting performance.

Biggus
on March 8, 2014, 15:26 GMT

Ananth, re. your reply to steve48, we Australians won't be devaluing bowling any time soon that I can see. Just as many youngsters want to be bowlers as batsmen:- indeed to be a good bowler is as high status a position and commands as much respect as a prolific batsman does. If anything our bowling stocks at grade level, as at the higher levels, are better than batting and relatively low scoring contests are far more common than batathons. I have few fears for the future of our bowling, far less than batting where the preponderance of short form contests seems perhaps to be eroding the traditional batting skills such as seeing off the new ball and building and innings.
[[
It is the innate attitude of the Australians who really believe that bowlers are needed to win matches. How often have we seen the Indian team take the field with insufficient number/wrong combination of bowlers. Also the unnecessary emphasis on bowlers' batting skills. Mishra could win Tests for India. But Dhoni would go with Jadeja, a very average spinner outside India, as the lone spinner. The T20/ODI skill-sets are telescoped into Test areas.
Ananth
]]

Insightful2013
on March 8, 2014, 14:23 GMT

Has the author actually seen these innings and if not, how do you assign relevance. Surely, it simply cannot be from the stats? Too many variables can account for averages and interpretation is entirely subjective. Visceral perception, should be the only criteria. Isn't that the rationale for sport? How it makes you feel! The performances, convey an emotional impact that transcends the norm, lifts you, entertains you and leaves you breathless! I fail to see how stats
effectuate those feelings, except intellectually.
[[
If I have seen Clem Hill's 188, I should be 130 years old and would be in Guinness Book of World Records. I do not have to physically see anything to appreciate its worth. If you limit yourself to appreciating and understanding only eye-witness accounts, your opportunities will be limited. And you would be solely depending on the coloured views of one, possibly biased, individual. But that is your choice.
Ananth
]]

Cool_Jeeves
on March 8, 2014, 14:14 GMT

Saeed Anwar's 145 in Rawalpindi and 119 in Brisbane in 1999 both against Australia (McGrath, Warne, etc.) were also very good lone hands.
[[
Yes, I agreed. Probably not as good as the 188.
Ananth
]]

steve48
on March 8, 2014, 12:48 GMT

Best thing about this article is your focus on the quality of the bowling in defining an innings as great. The well documented decline of bowling quality has left us with batsmen who through no fault of their own have inflated averages and reputations, never better exposed than in the recent ashes and aus/s.africa series. Cricket needs to focus on quality bowlers coming through, batting will respond and we can have the game back as a spectacle instead of a six hitting contest. Would any modern team actually score an innings total of above 100 against the West Indies of the 80's? Judging by recent efforts to play Mitch, Morne, Dale and of course Rhino, I doubt it! Can't see the modern powers that be will be in any hurry to agree, sadly
[[
If you have seen Gerry's comment, it emphasizes the point. India never puts the emphasis on bowler quality, everywhere. I am glad that both Australia and South Africa put a lot of importance to developing and preserving bowlers. How long??? With the new type of bi-lateral arrangements in place, India would produce rank turners against South Africa and Australia and we will be back to olden years. On their part, South Africa and Australia would do their bit in making these contests the home-teams' domain.
Having said that the recent series have been very good.
Ananth
]]

07sanjeewakaru
on March 8, 2014, 12:30 GMT

Wonderful list..I've one Ancient innings which I thought one of all time best but modern world haven't considered..
Gilbert Jessop's 4th innings blinder of a century in 5th Ashes test at Oval in 1905.
http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/63259.html...77 minuites innings..May be the best hitter in the cricket history.
Mahela Jayawardana's innings at 20012 SL vs England test series at Galle.
http://www.espncricinfo.com/sri-lanka-v-england-2012/engine/match/521225.html
[[
I briefly looked at Jessop's innings and dismissed it as "too well-known". And Jayawardene's innings is too recent and in the memory of all cricket followers. But both are wonderful innings, I concede. The 180 is in a top-20 position.
Ananth
]]

londonexile
on March 8, 2014, 12:29 GMT

What about JT Brown's match-winning innings of 140 at Melbourne 1894-5 and A Jackson's 164 at Adelaide 1928-9 (by all accounts one of the best ever test innings on debut) And has anyone mentioned GM turner's match-saving 223 not out at Kingston 1971-2?
[[
Brown's 140 is a tour-de-force and would have been in my shortlist if your comment had come for the last article. Jackson's 164 is a wonderful innings but very well-known. Re Turner's innings, the bowling was fairly ordinary and overall it was an easy-paced wicket. Match T7 PS avge being a high 127. RpW was also a reasonably high 59.
Ananth
]]

dummy4fb
on March 8, 2014, 10:52 GMT

where does sehwag 201 in Sri Lanka stand amongst those.
[[
You should read the article fully and understand the criteria for selection.
Ananth
]]

ArjunHemnani
on March 8, 2014, 10:48 GMT

Ananth,

I wonder where this effort of KD Walters(104* at Auckland, 1974) stand in forgotten masterpieces ?
In at 37/4, he scored 104* (of only 138 balls) against a very decent attack in their own backyard helping his team post a respectable total(221) which eventually resulted in a win for his team.
A look at scorecard shows first 21 wkts fell for only 335 runs in the match further increasing Value of his innings. Redpath's 159* in 3rd innings had a cusion of huge 1st innings lead.
Almost all the selections are good but not sure about the 1st entry(test#599), innings victory reducing the significance.
[[
Barber !!! is the single word answer to your last comment. If I make one young cricket follower today, say Shreyan Joshi, look up this scorecard and read about Barber, I would have achieved something.
Walters' innings would surely have made the shortlist. The final win margin was flattering but 221 and 112 surely adds value to his innings.
Ananth
]]

dummy4fb
on March 8, 2014, 9:19 GMT

"Test cricket might very live well beyond me."
Well..I'm sure about that Ananth..
I'm a 14 year old who has been following cricket now for about 5-6 years and honestly I have enjoyed watching Test cricket from the beginning.I hear many people talking that cricket is no more that intense,'money based' and all such things..
But I have watched some high intensity matches and consider myself lucky to be alive on that day to watch such cricket!
I don't whenever an close and nail biting matches are played..every one is like-"Mccullum has shown us what test cricket is","Harris proves test is the best""Test cricket is alive" etc
But..I can name some very hard fought games played every year that i have watched..
India vs australia at mohali in 2010(india won by one wicket)
India vs west indies,mumbai in 2011(match drawn or maybe tied :P)
India vs south africa 2014(Du plessis saves SA)
India vs NZ in 2014(both the matches)
England vs NZ(Prior saves Eng)
Australiavs Nz,2009(nz won a nailbiter)
[[
Shreyan, You have made my day, and week.
Ananth
]]

dummy4fb
on March 8, 2014, 9:16 GMT

Arvinda de silva 100 in second innings against india in late 90's.

Cool_Jeeves
on March 8, 2014, 8:37 GMT

Ananth, true, Gavaskar et al are aligned with BCCI. But the BCCI is promoting what sells. When the Aus SA test was going on, crowds were gathered around TV shops which were showing the Bangladesh match.

The traditional followers of the game are too few, the the watchers of masala cricket too many, so Indian influence will ultimately only weaken test cricket. Dravid puts 100% of his time in IPL. Says it all.

The only hope for test cricket is that England, Aus, SA play against each other regularly and over time even Indians realize that they cannot place their beloved batsmen alongside Dravid, Gavaskar and Tendulkar unless our team continues to be a force in test cricket. For that to happen, it will take a very long time.

Jimmyrob83
on March 8, 2014, 8:07 GMT

"since who has ever "forgotten" any innings Tendulkar played" I threw up in my mouth a little when I read this.

dummy4fb
on March 8, 2014, 7:52 GMT

I can say you forgot 2 Martyn innings one at Kandy and other at Chennai in 04 and Gilchrist in Kandy in 04 and Hayden in Galle in 04.

Cool_Jeeves
on March 8, 2014, 7:28 GMT

Good work Ananth, cant argue with any of the above.

On test cricket dying out, I must mention that I recently met Rahul Dravid for 2 hours in a function, and despite my persistent questions about whether India had any chance of unearthing a pace bowler, I did not get the impression from him that anyone in the establishment is truly bothered about our inability to find the next Kapil Dev or the next Kumble. Kapil Dev, an Indian fast bowler, had at one stage, 250 wickets in 60 tests, at a sub 25 average, took 9 wickets in an innings once, 8 twice, 7 twice, and has a better average in Australia + West Indies, true pitches, than even Imran or Akram.

Most questions to Dravid were on IPL, Rajasthan Royals. I dont think as a country we are bothered about bowlers at all. Indians would I think be satisfied if Kohli, Pujara got big centuries in England / Aus. If we dont win, no problem.

India has the biggest fan base. so our attitude may have the strongest influence on cricket, ultimately.
[[
That means my fears are justified. The real problems are also that the greats from the previous generations are all aligned with BCCI in one way or other and are unlikely to ask any searching questions. Gavaskar's recent questions on team selections were not aimed at Kohli but the "team management". He would be qute happy if Duncan and company are shown the door.
Ananth
]]

Ukraine
on March 10, 2014, 17:38 GMT

Hi Ananth,

Once again, an excellent article and analysis on Test Match cricket. I, too, hope that your son is wrong in predicting the death of the best format of cricket. Sadly, the powers that be are too greedy and capitalistic in their views. I play cricket for a local club in the US. The highlight of our season is 2 and 3 day Test Match cricket. We are probably the only club in the US to include this format in our annual fixtures list. If one is lucky enough to play Test Match cricket, one will fully appreciate the rigors, strategy, discipline, concentration, patience, and endurance of this format. Hopefully one will never follow IPL again. I wish some international players have the skills and chutzpah to stand up to their respective boards and speak out against the blatant wrong doing being done to keep Test Cricket out from their schedules. The history of cricket will change for the worse without the '99%' occupying ICC (BCCI)!
[[
I do not dislike T20 cricket, per se. I have time for the true international T20 matches. It is the greed, inequity, deception, possible criminal links, non-recognition of talent, imbalance, nepotism et al of IPL which puts me off. I might have tolerated IPL if there had been a more balanced and honest style of running. Unfortunately that is a den of *****.
Ananth
]]

dummy4fb
on March 10, 2014, 11:39 GMT

Hi Ananth,

I have always been a great fan of your articles, but this one was something else. Most of the innings I wasn't aware of, being a new generation cricket fan, and it has been amazing to read about them. Cricket is probably the only game that allows us fans to get into such deep analysis, and understand the importance of innings played even 50-100 years before.

I was just wondering, if it is a deliberate attempt to restrict to only centuries? I ask this because, as I was browsing through India's tour of West Indies, their last overseas win. The first test that India won, they were limbering at 85-6, when Bhajji knocked a quickfire 70, to help India to a total of 246 (In able company of Raina). I guess it was quite an important innings in the context of the match and the result (Accepted that the WI bowling wasn't the strongest enough).

My point is, won't there be quite a few such non-centuries, that would have had similar impact?
[[
Without being dogmatic about it, I seem to have limited myself to 100s. Even then there is still sufficient material for a third article. However your comment gives me an idea that there is a need to devote an article (and knowling my dear readers well, a follow-up article!!!) to sub-100 innings. Maybe I may not even bring in the "forgotten" tag for that. Many thanks.
Ananth
]]

dummy4fb
on March 9, 2014, 13:49 GMT

It is a good follow up article to the previous one. Reading the number of innings mentioned by the readers, I can gladly say that forgotten is a wrong terminology and I iwould substitute it for unhyped inniings.
I also had one observation from both the articles, Apart from Azhar Mahmood's innings tyouer selection plus comments, all mentionthe innings came from top and middle order. How about an article in the future focusing on the best innings played by a genuine tailende (8,9,10,11)r. Here, there could be two situations - Either the tail ender saves his team from a tough situation ( like say Brett lee almost did it in Edgbaston 2005), or the tailender plays a perfecting supporting role (GIllespie in Chennai, Ambrose in Barbados 1997 vs India). If possible , please do an article on it. as the readers could find some real gems
[[
Pawan, as I was writing up the Kapil innings against SA for the Test HSI article, I got a similar idea that 7-11 could form the basis of an article. Will do after a month or two.
Ananth
]]

lardster
on March 9, 2014, 12:37 GMT

These are great innings and you are doing a great service reminding people of what has been done over 150 years. So much room for discussion of course as we found out when we wrote our book Masterly Batting about great Test centuries. Plenty of the innings notes above feature in our book - I particularly enjoyed writing about Bob Barber - but one we excluded was Peter Willey on the basis that the game was safe once he'd reached 60-odd and part-time bowlers were then employed which rather tainted it.
But a fascinating and informative list.
[[
Patrick, many thanks for your kind words. I have yet to read your book and will do so soon. Let me also say that the Wisden 100 done during 2001 was my first attempt at such an analysis. I have since acquired a lot of insights on Bowling/Pitch conditions as well as on the innings/match status and player contributions and am currently working on the revision. Our top-10 or top-100 will never agree. But I must say that any list which puts the 154, 153*, 188 and the Bradman double-hundred (okay I got the first one and you got the second one!!!) in the top-10 deserves serious consideration. I got roasted over the coals for non-inclusion of Tendulkar. On paper the 155 was off a very weak bowling attack: Kaspro/Reiffel/Robertson/Warne. In my press conference I explained this. But non-scorecard considerations will always push up this innings.
Ananth
]]

dummy4fb
on March 9, 2014, 4:05 GMT

Thanks for the appreciation from 'Insightful' as well as Ananth !
I actually wanted to post about more matches but cricinfo din't allowed me to.. :P
Even though I have not watched many of those innings mentioned in the article but I can feel their greatness just through this article.
Actually you don't get to see the tests of the 80's and 90's on the TV probably because the broadcasters think that they won't attract that amount of people that a big scoring T20 might,no matter how inconsequential it might be.
But I want to convey one thing..It was IPL which created interest towards cricket in me at first..Yes "the IPL"..Some friends told me about it!
And one day I heard Ravi shastri saying "congratulations to Australia on their win over NZ and congratulations to ponting as well" in maybe 2009 or 2010 IPL..And me and my friends watched the match and followed the whole series.
Since then I have watched some good,if not great matches!
[[
Thanks, Shreyan. More than watching, you would also get excellent insight by reading about matches which were played over the years. Some of the best sporting prose exists relating to the game of cricket. Slowly develop a liking towards the writings of John Arlott, Nevile Cardus, Ray Robinson, CLR James, Jack Fingleton, KN Prabhu and the like. Now Nirmal Shekhar writes beautifully.
I am not a fan of IP because of many negative things. But I like the international version of T20. Again it is a matter of personal preference. I do not like the 150-minute action formula Indian film at all. There are many who swear by the relaxation it gives them.
Take care. All the best. May there be more youngsters like you. The game would survive because of guys like you.
Ananth
]]

Insightful2013
on March 8, 2014, 19:48 GMT

Re reply to Biggus, Windies fast bowlers, Murali, Akram and Waquar won matches by themselves. Re myself, if I haven't actually seen something, it then becomes fiction or subjective. I watch sport for my feelings. I read Stephen king for his brilliant imagination. It's like T20, aficionados know it's silly cricket and attach little importance to any performances. That's borne out by the now" booming" mentality of some batsmen, who cannot adjust. Re: Steve 48 and Gerry, I hope this isn't too insensitive but it's my belief. I see absolutely no difference physiologically between a Pakistani, Indian, Sri Lankan and an East Indian West Indian, except politics and religion. Malinga and Acktar were certainly express. Leaving my conclusion, it must be a regional affectation. And as to Shreyan Joshi, please, we need more insightful 14 yr olds like him. His posts should always be given priority and his opinions ferociously sought after. Shreyan, watch the 80's, 90's achives and stay well.
[[
I respect your views on sports. For me partly Tennis is like your cricket view. Nice of you to mention about Shreyan. An oasis in desert. If, through my anecdotal articles, I can get youngsters like Shreyan take interest in what happened 50 years or 100 years back, I would have done something. For instance, Barber's tour-de-force was a whiff of fresh air for me in those difficult teenage days: a loving family but very little resources. If I can make one person, even you, look up that scorecard, it would be enough for me.
Ananth
]]

steve48
on March 8, 2014, 18:49 GMT

Must add, Anatha, it is a pleasure to have our comments personally answered! Batting has always been seen as more glamorous, I guess, perhaps apart from in Australia, where they seem to understand that one does not exist without the other! I agree with you that spin is India's biggest problem now, as Dhoni and the selectors seem to favour a batting, economical spinner. What exactly is going on with Ashwin? I really thought being outbowled at home by Swann and Monty would be the wake up call India needed. But it seems one day formats, individual stars such as Kholi and of course the IPL rule. Worrying when you consider the power India has over the game
[[
Indeed very worrying. The spectacle Ashwin made of himself in the first Asia Cup game, when he tried to bowl like Sunil Narine, was disgusting. I get the feeling that he does not want to do the basics correctly and keeps on experimenting. I still think Harbhajan is a far better Test match bowler. For that matter, Lyon is a safe bet in Tests. Imagine, this from a country, which gave to the world Prasanna, one of the truly great off-spinners of all time.
Ananth
]]

A_Sekar
on March 8, 2014, 17:11 GMT

Also can be included is Asif Iqbal's 152 Not out against Australia in 1977 in the first test at Adelaide (2nd innings). His memorable last wicket partnership of 87 with last man Iqbal Qasim, who was last out for 4. This knock meant that Australia were sent a decent target of 285 on the last day, and they made 261 for six and the match was drawn. But for Asif's knock, Pakistan would have lost this match. In fact Asif Iqbal is known for such stupendous innings, another 120 in the last test at sydney, which helped Pakistan to square the series.
[[
That was a magnificent innings, against Lillee, Thomson, Gilmour and O'Keefe. He came in at 236 for 4 and took Pakistan to relative safety at 466. It is certainly worthy of consideration. Forget about the specific XV. Discussion in the comments is as important.
Ananth
]]

steve48
on March 8, 2014, 12:48 GMT

Best thing about this article is your focus on the quality of the bowling in defining an innings as great. The well documented decline of bowling quality has left us with batsmen who through no fault of their own have inflated averages and reputations, never better exposed than in the recent ashes and aus/s.africa series. Cricket needs to focus on quality bowlers coming through, batting will respond and we can have the game back as a spectacle instead of a six hitting contest. Would any modern team actually score an innings total of above 100 against the West Indies of the 80's? Judging by recent efforts to play Mitch, Morne, Dale and of course Rhino, I doubt it! Can't see the modern powers that be will be in any hurry to agree, sadly
[[
If you have seen Gerry's comment, it emphasizes the point. India never puts the emphasis on bowler quality, everywhere. I am glad that both Australia and South Africa put a lot of importance to developing and preserving bowlers. How long??? With the new type of bi-lateral arrangements in place, India would produce rank turners against South Africa and Australia and we will be back to olden years. On their part, South Africa and Australia would do their bit in making these contests the home-teams' domain.
Having said that the recent series have been very good.
Ananth
]]

londonexile
on March 8, 2014, 12:29 GMT

What about JT Brown's match-winning innings of 140 at Melbourne 1894-5 and A Jackson's 164 at Adelaide 1928-9 (by all accounts one of the best ever test innings on debut) And has anyone mentioned GM turner's match-saving 223 not out at Kingston 1971-2?
[[
Brown's 140 is a tour-de-force and would have been in my shortlist if your comment had come for the last article. Jackson's 164 is a wonderful innings but very well-known. Re Turner's innings, the bowling was fairly ordinary and overall it was an easy-paced wicket. Match T7 PS avge being a high 127. RpW was also a reasonably high 59.
Ananth
]]

ArjunHemnani
on March 8, 2014, 10:48 GMT

Ananth,

I wonder where this effort of KD Walters(104* at Auckland, 1974) stand in forgotten masterpieces ?
In at 37/4, he scored 104* (of only 138 balls) against a very decent attack in their own backyard helping his team post a respectable total(221) which eventually resulted in a win for his team.
A look at scorecard shows first 21 wkts fell for only 335 runs in the match further increasing Value of his innings. Redpath's 159* in 3rd innings had a cusion of huge 1st innings lead.
Almost all the selections are good but not sure about the 1st entry(test#599), innings victory reducing the significance.
[[
Barber !!! is the single word answer to your last comment. If I make one young cricket follower today, say Shreyan Joshi, look up this scorecard and read about Barber, I would have achieved something.
Walters' innings would surely have made the shortlist. The final win margin was flattering but 221 and 112 surely adds value to his innings.
Ananth
]]

dummy4fb
on March 8, 2014, 9:19 GMT

"Test cricket might very live well beyond me."
Well..I'm sure about that Ananth..
I'm a 14 year old who has been following cricket now for about 5-6 years and honestly I have enjoyed watching Test cricket from the beginning.I hear many people talking that cricket is no more that intense,'money based' and all such things..
But I have watched some high intensity matches and consider myself lucky to be alive on that day to watch such cricket!
I don't whenever an close and nail biting matches are played..every one is like-"Mccullum has shown us what test cricket is","Harris proves test is the best""Test cricket is alive" etc
But..I can name some very hard fought games played every year that i have watched..
India vs australia at mohali in 2010(india won by one wicket)
India vs west indies,mumbai in 2011(match drawn or maybe tied :P)
India vs south africa 2014(Du plessis saves SA)
India vs NZ in 2014(both the matches)
England vs NZ(Prior saves Eng)
Australiavs Nz,2009(nz won a nailbiter)
[[
Shreyan, You have made my day, and week.
Ananth
]]

Cool_Jeeves
on March 8, 2014, 7:28 GMT

Good work Ananth, cant argue with any of the above.

On test cricket dying out, I must mention that I recently met Rahul Dravid for 2 hours in a function, and despite my persistent questions about whether India had any chance of unearthing a pace bowler, I did not get the impression from him that anyone in the establishment is truly bothered about our inability to find the next Kapil Dev or the next Kumble. Kapil Dev, an Indian fast bowler, had at one stage, 250 wickets in 60 tests, at a sub 25 average, took 9 wickets in an innings once, 8 twice, 7 twice, and has a better average in Australia + West Indies, true pitches, than even Imran or Akram.

Most questions to Dravid were on IPL, Rajasthan Royals. I dont think as a country we are bothered about bowlers at all. Indians would I think be satisfied if Kohli, Pujara got big centuries in England / Aus. If we dont win, no problem.

India has the biggest fan base. so our attitude may have the strongest influence on cricket, ultimately.
[[
That means my fears are justified. The real problems are also that the greats from the previous generations are all aligned with BCCI in one way or other and are unlikely to ask any searching questions. Gavaskar's recent questions on team selections were not aimed at Kohli but the "team management". He would be qute happy if Duncan and company are shown the door.
Ananth
]]

Cool_Jeeves
on March 8, 2014, 7:28 GMT

Good work Ananth, cant argue with any of the above.

On test cricket dying out, I must mention that I recently met Rahul Dravid for 2 hours in a function, and despite my persistent questions about whether India had any chance of unearthing a pace bowler, I did not get the impression from him that anyone in the establishment is truly bothered about our inability to find the next Kapil Dev or the next Kumble. Kapil Dev, an Indian fast bowler, had at one stage, 250 wickets in 60 tests, at a sub 25 average, took 9 wickets in an innings once, 8 twice, 7 twice, and has a better average in Australia + West Indies, true pitches, than even Imran or Akram.

Most questions to Dravid were on IPL, Rajasthan Royals. I dont think as a country we are bothered about bowlers at all. Indians would I think be satisfied if Kohli, Pujara got big centuries in England / Aus. If we dont win, no problem.

India has the biggest fan base. so our attitude may have the strongest influence on cricket, ultimately.
[[
That means my fears are justified. The real problems are also that the greats from the previous generations are all aligned with BCCI in one way or other and are unlikely to ask any searching questions. Gavaskar's recent questions on team selections were not aimed at Kohli but the "team management". He would be qute happy if Duncan and company are shown the door.
Ananth
]]

dummy4fb
on March 8, 2014, 7:52 GMT

I can say you forgot 2 Martyn innings one at Kandy and other at Chennai in 04 and Gilchrist in Kandy in 04 and Hayden in Galle in 04.

Jimmyrob83
on March 8, 2014, 8:07 GMT

"since who has ever "forgotten" any innings Tendulkar played" I threw up in my mouth a little when I read this.

Cool_Jeeves
on March 8, 2014, 8:37 GMT

Ananth, true, Gavaskar et al are aligned with BCCI. But the BCCI is promoting what sells. When the Aus SA test was going on, crowds were gathered around TV shops which were showing the Bangladesh match.

The traditional followers of the game are too few, the the watchers of masala cricket too many, so Indian influence will ultimately only weaken test cricket. Dravid puts 100% of his time in IPL. Says it all.

The only hope for test cricket is that England, Aus, SA play against each other regularly and over time even Indians realize that they cannot place their beloved batsmen alongside Dravid, Gavaskar and Tendulkar unless our team continues to be a force in test cricket. For that to happen, it will take a very long time.

dummy4fb
on March 8, 2014, 9:16 GMT

Arvinda de silva 100 in second innings against india in late 90's.

dummy4fb
on March 8, 2014, 9:19 GMT

"Test cricket might very live well beyond me."
Well..I'm sure about that Ananth..
I'm a 14 year old who has been following cricket now for about 5-6 years and honestly I have enjoyed watching Test cricket from the beginning.I hear many people talking that cricket is no more that intense,'money based' and all such things..
But I have watched some high intensity matches and consider myself lucky to be alive on that day to watch such cricket!
I don't whenever an close and nail biting matches are played..every one is like-"Mccullum has shown us what test cricket is","Harris proves test is the best""Test cricket is alive" etc
But..I can name some very hard fought games played every year that i have watched..
India vs australia at mohali in 2010(india won by one wicket)
India vs west indies,mumbai in 2011(match drawn or maybe tied :P)
India vs south africa 2014(Du plessis saves SA)
India vs NZ in 2014(both the matches)
England vs NZ(Prior saves Eng)
Australiavs Nz,2009(nz won a nailbiter)
[[
Shreyan, You have made my day, and week.
Ananth
]]

ArjunHemnani
on March 8, 2014, 10:48 GMT

Ananth,

I wonder where this effort of KD Walters(104* at Auckland, 1974) stand in forgotten masterpieces ?
In at 37/4, he scored 104* (of only 138 balls) against a very decent attack in their own backyard helping his team post a respectable total(221) which eventually resulted in a win for his team.
A look at scorecard shows first 21 wkts fell for only 335 runs in the match further increasing Value of his innings. Redpath's 159* in 3rd innings had a cusion of huge 1st innings lead.
Almost all the selections are good but not sure about the 1st entry(test#599), innings victory reducing the significance.
[[
Barber !!! is the single word answer to your last comment. If I make one young cricket follower today, say Shreyan Joshi, look up this scorecard and read about Barber, I would have achieved something.
Walters' innings would surely have made the shortlist. The final win margin was flattering but 221 and 112 surely adds value to his innings.
Ananth
]]

dummy4fb
on March 8, 2014, 10:52 GMT

where does sehwag 201 in Sri Lanka stand amongst those.
[[
You should read the article fully and understand the criteria for selection.
Ananth
]]

londonexile
on March 8, 2014, 12:29 GMT

What about JT Brown's match-winning innings of 140 at Melbourne 1894-5 and A Jackson's 164 at Adelaide 1928-9 (by all accounts one of the best ever test innings on debut) And has anyone mentioned GM turner's match-saving 223 not out at Kingston 1971-2?
[[
Brown's 140 is a tour-de-force and would have been in my shortlist if your comment had come for the last article. Jackson's 164 is a wonderful innings but very well-known. Re Turner's innings, the bowling was fairly ordinary and overall it was an easy-paced wicket. Match T7 PS avge being a high 127. RpW was also a reasonably high 59.
Ananth
]]

07sanjeewakaru
on March 8, 2014, 12:30 GMT

Wonderful list..I've one Ancient innings which I thought one of all time best but modern world haven't considered..
Gilbert Jessop's 4th innings blinder of a century in 5th Ashes test at Oval in 1905.
http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/63259.html...77 minuites innings..May be the best hitter in the cricket history.
Mahela Jayawardana's innings at 20012 SL vs England test series at Galle.
http://www.espncricinfo.com/sri-lanka-v-england-2012/engine/match/521225.html
[[
I briefly looked at Jessop's innings and dismissed it as "too well-known". And Jayawardene's innings is too recent and in the memory of all cricket followers. But both are wonderful innings, I concede. The 180 is in a top-20 position.
Ananth
]]